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French President Emmanuel Macron appears with the main address at the Shangri-La dialogue summit in Singapore on May 30, 2025.
Ludovich Marin | AFP | Gets the image
European leaders are looking for South -East Asia with a new interest against the background of the aggressive tariff program of Washington, but experts warn that the state of regional trade makes a difficult violation of the United States or China.
South -East Asia is difficult: its ally China is increasing its success in the South -Chinese Sea, With the newest Chinese bombers. At the end of last month, a pacel in the region was noticed in the controversial islands when the tension is ignited with the Philippines. Meanwhile, his other ally, the US, hangs the threat of tariffs over all Creating a validity in July.
Currently, Europe has taken advantage of the opportunity to come out as an alternative ally for Asian countries, and French President Emmanuel Macron calls for stronger ties between the Shangri-La dialogue blocks that ended this month.
According to Bob Herer-Lim, the head of the director in Tennea, Southeast Asia brings access to another market for his defense sector. The IFRi log adds that the region can also provide Europe with a diversified supply chain to bring hedge to economic dependence on the United States or China, and the significant reserves of raw materials needed for green and digital EU transition.
Europe is ambitious in the hope of new Asia, but analysts still doubt that it can overtake the influence of the United States or China in the region.
“Europe, by itself, can offer Southeast Asia a valuable option to capture the risk of restoration either in China or the US,” CNBC CNBC said CNBC CNBC.
Trade trumps all
While the connections cover more than half a century, southeastern Asian relations and European relations have been linked to different problems that erero-Lim Tena is referring to factors such as geographical distance and divergence on politics or the environment.
In his main speech in the Shangri-La dialogue, Macron called for stronger ties between Europe and the new special relations of the Indo-Pacific Ocean. He emphasized that both blocks face “potential erosion of ancient alliances” and the threat of countries fighting or turning to force, drawing direct parallels between China’s progress in the South China Sea and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But only such experience may not be enough to reject Asia from the US or China, reports Herrera-Lim.
“The form stems from the function in Southeast Asia,” he said CNBC in the call: “Relations are built on economic ties in Southeast Asia, most of the rest.”
While the EU has trade ties with Singapore and Vietnam, negotiations on other bilateral transactions or free trade contracts in the EU-ASEAN (FTA) have been delayed for years, and the IFRi pione said that the “still succeeds” block in the region’s presence and investment.
Meanwhile, Beijing remains the largest trading partner of Southeast Asia since 2009, and the total number of goods in trade reached $ 982.3 billion in 2024. The United States follows the second place, estimated last year in trade in $ 476.8 billion. The EU lags behind the third place, approximately 258.7 billion euros (299.7 billion) of goods in trade over the same period.
Without any significant reforms and promises to raise trade in the future, erera-li said it would be difficult for Europe to compete with the block trading partners.
“If next week or next month, China says,” We are carrying out reforms to open the domestic markets in China for Southeast Asia goods, “southeastern Asia will be lined up to access the Chinese market. Regardless of its politics around many of these issues,” he said.
Resist
Although Europe may not be able to replace the United States or China in New Asia, it may offer transparent, reliable partnerships that are not about the zero competition, Lizza Bomassi research analyst at the European Union’s Security Studies Institute (EUIS) reported CNBC by email.
“The proposal of Europe value is to be a reliable partner in such critical fields as energy security, green infrastructure and digital control,” she said, “are areas where southeastern Asian countries want to diversify and create stability, especially given the restraint.”
The YFRI has said the strengthening of communication with Europe will allow southeastern Asia to diversify their strategic partnerships and increase their ability to withstand hegemonic pressure.
“The availability of more partners, including Europe, attracts diplomatic and reputational costs to escalate China (territorial disputes in the region), especially given Beijing’s emphasis on” peaceful lift “,” Bomassi said.
“In this context of the EU-ASAN partnership, it is not about the tough military deterrence, but it serves as a decisive symbolic protection mechanism. This enhances that Southeast Asia is not isolated and has several partners, making the region more elastic,” she added.
